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Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.

The one-time leader was convicted of plotting a military coup in the ninth month and given more than 27 years in incarceration, but he remained under confinement pending appeals.

Top Judicial Official the presiding justice said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a preventative measure after fresh information were revealed.

This involved trying to remove his tracking device and a invitation to a demonstration that could enable a potential flight.

Court Filing Details Escape Risks

In a document approving the custody, Justice Moraes said data from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his getaway".

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his son.

His son, Flávio, who works as a senator, called for a meeting of his supporters near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.

His son wrote on digital networks on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your couch? I invite you to struggle with us."

He said the gathering would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the possibility of Bolsonaro's move to embassies near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a record of planning to request asylum through a embassy office", a statement said.

The legal document highlights that the US embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is situated around 13km from his dwelling.

Global Responses

Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist US President Donald Trump, causing him to impose a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.

Bolsonaro is being kept in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will have a imprisonment assessment on the next day.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.

They also requested that he be allowed to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other health problems.

Details of Guilty Verdict

He was convicted of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a plot which involved plans to assassinate the current president and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.

The conspiracy was stopped because it failed to get the backing of the armed forces officials. His successor was inaugurated without issue on January 1st, 2023.

But a following week, on 8 January, thousands of his backers stormed and vandalised government buildings in the federal district, Brazil's capital.

The law enforcement took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.

The judges found that the demonstrators had been incited by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, restore order and reinstate his authority.

At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also barred from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - eight years later after the end of his sentence.

The one-time head of state called the trial a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 national vote.